Misadventures in Babysitting
by Rangergirl3
Summary: Keith and Lance find themselves fighting an unexpected enemy to protect a little girl. Lots of Keith and Lance being awesomely protective. Ends on a cliffhanger, but the following story 'Family Is More Than Blood' is now up. Can be read on its own. Thirteenth in the 'Lost Paladins' series.
1. Author's Note - Story Order

Greetings, reader! Thank you for clicking on this story! :D

This story is part of a series, but it can be read on its own.

If you're new to these stories, or if you're wondering what order they go in, here's the order of my 'Lost Paladins' series:

1) Lost Paladins

2) Fever Dreams

3) Team Building Exercises

4) Pidge one-shot

5) Red Means Blood

6) Chocolate Chip Cookies

7) Quality Time (references my fic 'You Can't Take the Sky From Me')

8) Broken Barriers

9) On the Edge

10) Scavenger Hunt

11) Broken Paladins

12) Cabin Fever

and the newest two that I have just posted:

13) Adventures in Babysitting

14) Family Is More Than Blood

Yup...you can tell I really love the Voltron: Legendary Defender show, huh? :D

But please, feel free to read this story on its own merit if you like - I love it when people read and review my stories! :D :D

The stories in this series do build on each other, so it may make a bit more sense if you read the stories in the order listed above. I would hate for you to feel lost or confused. :-)

There should be some more stories coming - I never thought I'd write this many, but all of the encouragement and support from you wonderful readers led to _everything_ after 'Lost Paladins'. :D :D Your reviews and encouragement are the life-blood that help me continue to write this series. Thank you!

As always, reviews help me know what people enjoyed/thought was interesting - your feedback helps this writer stay encouraged and get more ideas! It really makes my day to read what people thought/enjoyed - and feel free to PM me if you like! :D :D

Happy Reading!


	2. Prologue (Morning Wake Up Call)

This was a tricky assignment. Lance knew it would take all of his skill and ability to pull off.

He tiptoed over to where Keith had fallen asleep after their movie marathan, on one of the couches that littered the lounge, leaned over, and -

"GOOD MORNING!" Lance hollered into Keith's ear. He had been expecting the Red Paladin to let out a very undignified yelp and fall off the couch, like Coran had just a few moments earlier.

He got quite a different reaction from Keith. The Red Paladin didn't so much wake up as automatically attack, and Lance suddenly found himself face-down on the ground, one arm locked behind his back.

From the other side of the room, Pidge raised her head, yawning, her hair standing up on edge from static electricity, and she glared over at the Blue Paladin.

"If you _ever_ do that to me," she said, quite evenly, "I will find you, and I will _kill_ you with my _mind_."

Lance was too busy screaming, 'UNCLE! UNCLE! SWEET _JESUS_ \- KEITH - **UNCLE**!" at the top of his voice to hear her threat.

At the usual sound of Lance screaming after an attempted sneak attack on Keith, Hunk sighed, rolled over, and saw that the Red Paladin's eyes were narrowed into his usual expression of 'grumpiness', and that meant that Lance was in no real danger.

Hunk sighed again and sat up, mumbling to himself that he really needed to stop falling asleep mid-project. He had bits of paper stuck to his face, and he found a pen had somehow settled onto his arm. He shook his arm once, and the pen toppled onto the floor.

At the sound, Keith blinked around at the room, looked down, snorted, and released his hold on the Blue Paladin.

"Why would you _do_ that?" Keith snarled at Lance, falling back onto the couch and rubbing at his eyes. "I almost broke your arm, you _idiot_ \- "

Lance was already getting back to his feet with an absolutely stupid grin of amusement on his face.

"I wanted to test and see if your arm's totally back to normal, man!" He said, pointing at Keith's arm. Keith dropped his hands from his face and glared daggers at Lance.

"I _know_ it is," Keith snarled, "the sling came off yesterday, you _moron_ \- "

Lance just laughed, but Keith continued, his voice annoyed and serious. "No - Lance - I'm serious - I could have broken your arm - just - don't _do_ that again, okay?!"

Lance opened his mouth to answer with something flippant, but when he saw that Keith was being serious, he blinked in confusion.

"Uh - really?" he asked, and Keith rolled his eyes as he got to his feet, reaching for his jacket.

"Never mind - just - forget about it - "

But Lance was curious now, and he pestered Keith with questions for the next several minutes until Keith finally threw his hands in the air and glared at Lance.

"Lance - just - _God_ , you are so _annoying_!"

"But whadda mean you could have broken my - "

"I can't control my own strength sometimes, okay?!" Keith snarled at him. "Why do you think I train all the damn time?!"

Lance opened his mouth, shut it, and then said, seeming confused, "-uh - because you - like to work out?"

Keith facepalmed and gritted something between his teeth to himself, something that sounded like 'patience yields focus'.

Pidge overheard him as she and Hunk came over to join them. All of them had gotten dressed and ready for the day - more or less. Pidge still hadn't combed her hair, but that hardly counted.

"Oh - isn't that what Shiro told you on the - " she said, and Keith opened an eye and glared over at her.

" _Yep_ ," he said, his teeth still grinding together.

Pidge yawned again, and asked, her voice interested, "What, is it like, a mantra or a calming exercise or something?"

"I do those sometimes!" Hunk said.

What Keith wanted to say was something scathing, but he knew the Yellow Paladin was just trying to help, so he bit it back and said instead, "Yeah - it's _great_ when it _works_ \- "

He glared over at Lance again, but Lance seemed to be thinking of something else already.

"Hey - isn't that a quote from a movie or something?" Lance asked, and Keith rolled his eyes.

"Yes, Lance, it probably is."

"Which one?"

"Lance, you just woke me up by _screaming in my ear_ \- what, do you think I have a file cabinet in my head where I keep all these things alphabetized or something-"

Lance threw his hands up defensively. "Whoa, man, okay, okay, I'm sorry!"

Keith growled back in answer, but Coran poked his head into the room and said, "Ah! Good, you're all awake!"

As the Royal Advisor came into the room, he said, quite cheerfully, "Ah! Another lovely day!"

"In the tunnels…" Pidge said.

"Underground…" Hunk added.

"With Shiro in a cryo-pod…" Keith muttered.

"And…we've already gone through most of the shows we can all watch together," Lance said. "At least for now…I mean…it's fun…but I can only binge-watch so many episodes before - "

Coran beamed at them all. "Which is why today, we're going to be doing something different!"

"And…that'll be…what, exactly?" Pidge asked, and Coran grinned at her.

"I think Rayzor will be bringing Beyris here today - so we can - "

"…babysit…?" Keith asked, and when the others turned to look at him, he hastily added, "I like the kid, I really do - but - um - don't you think we should…I don't know…-"

"Train? Exactly!" Coran said. Everyone except Keith sighed resignedly, but Coran continued.

"That is, I think we should all train in something I know we can use a bit of practice in - one on one teamwork!"

The four Paladins looked at each other.

"Uh…you mean…" Pidge said, and Coran nodded cheerfully at her.

"Pidge, Hunk, I've located some some power converters I thought you could use for a joint project," Coran said. "And Lance, Keith - I think you could - "

"Try not to kill each other every other minute?" Pidge asked. Hunk tried to hide a smile, but Coran nodded at her.

"Well - yes," he said, and Keith folded his arms and glared over at Lance, who rolled his eyes.

"I know these past few days haven't been - easy," Coran said, and as no one denied it, he continued. "I know you're all worried about Shiro, but Allura tells me his condition is - is very good, all things considering. He'll be back to normal soon, and in the meantime, we just have to do whatever we can to keep the team working well together."

Keith's fingers tightened on his jacket as he looked down the corridor, down to the infirmary where Shiro still slept in a cryo-pod.

 _That damn witch Haggar._

Keith wanted nothing more than to find the witch and kill her, but he forced himself to listen to Coran.

 _Imagine Haggar flying out an airlock later,_ he told himself. _Focus now._

"So - Keith, Lance, I thought that you could try - "

But Coran was cut off by the sound of alarms and sirens.

As the Royal Advisor turned towards the door, the Paladins all looked at each other again, quarrels and annoyances forgotten. Even Lance looked serious.

"Coran, do you know what that alarm is for?" Pidge asked, intentionally keeping her voice controlled. Hunk was biting his fingernails out of nervousness, and Keith had already reached for his bayard.

"I think - " Coran said, and then he jumped as something in his pocket began beeping. He quickly pulled what looked like a cellphone out of his pocket and pressed a button.

"What is that?" Hunk asked Coran, who said, "A handheld communicator - Rayzor and Aurelis thought it was a good idea for me to have one, to stay in touch - "

Just then, a small screen opened up on the device, and the Paladins saw Rayzor's face. His expression was serious, but not alarmed.

"You've heard the alarms?" he asked, and Coran nodded. "I was just about to ask you - what do they mean?"

"They mean there's enough seismic activity in the area to warrant an alert," Rayzor said. "All inhabitants are to stay inside designated safe areas until the activity ceases."

"How long might that be?" Coran asked, and Rayzor shrugged. "Usually no more than a day or two. Sometimes we can go for weeks without the alarms occurring. It's nothing to worry about."

Keith moved so he could have a better view of the screen. "What about the infirmary?" he asked, his concern for Shiro showing in his voice. "Is there any chance th-"

"No," Rayzor said, and his tone was reassuring, not dismissive. "The tunnels that are inhabited are quite secure. There's no chance the infirmary would suffer damage. The sirens are more of a - preventative measure, to keep people from taking unnecessary risk."

He broke off then, seeming to listen to someone speaking to him in the background. When he returned his attention to the screen, his eyes had gone hard.

"It seems my attention is required elsewhere - Council business. Coran, I have a request. My niece, Beyris - could you - "

"Absolutely," Coran said. "We'll come get her - we can bring her here, she can stay with us while you attend to the other matters."

There was evident relief in Rayzor's voice. "Thank you. I think she'll be glad of the company."

A small voice piped up from somewhere near the ground, and Pidge smiled to hear Beyris' voice.

"Is that Coran?!"

Rayzor smiled down at someone who wasn't shown on the screen. "Yes, Beyris - "

The screen shuddered and bounced a little, and then Beyris' face peeped over the edge of the screen. She'd clearly somehow managed to angle the screen so she could see them.

"Hi Coran!" she said as she waved. Coran smiled and said, "Hello, Beyris. You're certainly wide awake!"

Beyris beamed. "I got up early," she told them earnestly.

"Early is…one way of putting it…" Rayzor muttered, but he was still smiling.

Lance waved at Beyris. "We'll see you soon, okay?!" he said.

Beyris waved back. "Okay! I'll go get my things!"

Rayzor took the comms unit back, and he gave them the directions that would take them only through the safe areas. "Whoever comes shouldn't encounter any trouble," he said. "I'll make sure any guards on that route know members from your party are coming. If they have any concerns, don't hesitate to contact me."

"Got it," Coran said. He ended the call, and turned towards the team.

"Right," he said, tapping the comms unit against his chin. "I think…I think Keith and Lance should go get Beyris."

"YEAH!" Lance whooped, pumping his fist. Then he blinked. "Wait - me _and_ Keith?"

Coran nodded. "I know you two struggle to get on sometimes, but I think a new setting will do you both a lot of good. And Beyris likes you both - I'm sure it will be all right."

He held out the comms unit towards both Keith and Lance. "If you have any questions, just turn this button - it's tuned to Rayzor's frequency. If you'd like to contact me, just turn it the other way - that'll connect you to Aurelis' comms unit. I'll be in there with Allura while Pidge and Hunk work on their project in here."

Lance almost reached out towards the comms unit Coran held out to them, but he saw that Keith was watching him and hesitated.

Teamwork had to come from both sides. And anyway, it didn't _really_ matter which of them held the comms unit.

"You could hold it, if you like," he told Keith. "Or I could. Whatever."

Keith shrugged, his expression resigned. "Go ahead."

Lance took it from Coran then, and he and Keith turned towards the door. Just before he left the room, Lance slapped his forehead and ran back into the room, grabbing his bayard.

"Can't hurt to be careful," he said, and Coran nodded.

Keith, of course, already had his bayard, but he'd waited for Lance just outside the door. Coran took that as encouraging sign.

Together, the Red and Blue Paladin left the lounge, and Coran waited a few moments before poking his head out of the door to see if they had gone in the right direction.

They had.

Coran let out a quiet sigh of relief as he went back into the lounge to help Hunk and Pidge set up their joint project.

He had faith in Keith and Lance. They were both very competent Paladins.

He just…hoped they could work together.

Surely a walk down a few corridors wouldn't be beyond the realms of possibility.


	3. Corridor Chit-Chat

"Lance - _please_ stop humming Pentatonix."

"I can't help it - their songs are so catchy!"

"Lance - for the _love_ of _God_ \- _stop it already_."

"Aw, come on, Keith, there's got be at least one song you're not sick of - "

"I never said I was sick of their songs, Lance - it's just you keep humming the _same_ _refrain-_ "

"But it fits our situation so well!"

"It _really_ doesn't-"

Lance grinned and couldn't resist muttering the lyrics under his breath. _"No idea where I'm going - but there's no looking back - 'cause I'm cracked!"_

 _*Author's Note: The song referenced here is 'Cracked' by Pentatonix. I own nothing, but the song is fantastic. Also, quite catchy.*_

Keith stopped walking, massaging the space between his eyes as if he could feel a migraine coming on. When he spoke, it was through gritted teeth.

"We _have_ a map, so we _do_ know where we're going. And Beyris is waiting for us, so - "

Lance leaned against a nearby wall and shoved his hands into his pockets, glaring at the Red Paladin. "Dude, it's a _joke_. These tunnels are crazy complicated! Without that space cellphone showing us the way on its map settings, I'd feel like Perseus in the Minotaur's maze!"

Keith sighed, but he was half-smiling as he answered. It was always somewhat comforting to put strange surroundings into some kind of familiar context.

"Wasn't….that… Theseus? Who fought the Minotaur?"

Lance blinked. "Oh. Yeah. Huh. What did Perseus do then?"

Keith shrugged. "I think…maybe something with snakes? I haven't read those stories in years-"

Lance shook his head, looked down at the map again, and sighed, holding out the comms unit to Keith. "Here, dude, your turn. I'm starting to feel dizzy from all the different turns we've taken."

As they resumed walking, Lance thought hard for a moment, then snapped his fingers. "Aha! Yes - Perseus killed that snake-headed lady and turned a monster into stone. I think. Or was that-"

Lance glanced over at Keith and saw that Keith was looking down at the map. Keith's eyes were narrowed in thought, and he stopped again, suddenly.

"Damn - we took a wrong turn - the one we want is - back a little ways."

Lance felt a little guilty - he hadn't wanted them to get lost. But it didn't sound like Keith was blaming him for distracting them, or for making the wrong turn in the first place.

Maybe they _could_ work together. Occasionally. For short periods of time.

As they turned to head back down the correct tunnel, they almost ran right into four Proselyt in guards uniforms.

"Oh - uh - sorry," Lance said as they passed by the four men. Keith kept his eyes on the map, intent on making the correct turn this time, but Lance could have sworn one of the guards glared at Keith for a second.

It was only for an instant, so Lance didn't know if he'd just imagined it, but he made sure to listen to the guards' conversation as he continued walking next to Keith. It was a skill he'd picked up back at the Garrison, trying to be aware of situations and people around him. So he overheard what the men said as they vanished down one of the many corridors.

"That's the Red Paladin?"

"I _told_ you he wouldn't travel alone down here."

"It doesn't matter. He's not our concern."

"Let's just get this over with."

 _Sinister_ , Lance thought. _Either that…or I'm paranoid. Either way, I wish I knew my way around here better._

"Stars," he muttered to himself, "I sure hope we don't get lost."

Keith looked up from the map then. "Huh? Lance, did you say something?"

Lance glanced back over his shoulder, to where the guards had disappeared, then back at Keith. His teammate deserved to know if Lance thought something was going on.

"Those guys we just passed - uh - "

Keith was looking at him, seeming slightly confused. "…yeah?"

Lance shrugged. "Eh, probably nothing. I'm just jumpy - "

Keith turned his attention back to the map, concentrating. "Can't say I blame you," he said, almost to himself. "I _hate_ it down here -"

He looked back at Lance, and realized he'd said what he was thinking out loud.

"You do?" Lance asked, his face concerned. Keith wanted to take the words back, but he couldn't now - and Lance would only ask him all kinds of questions if he didn't give some sort of explanation.

He pointed down the corridor they had to head down, and he and Lance continued to walk as they spoke.

"I've never liked to be - indoors," Keith said. "Not like, inside a house - I'm fine with that - but there's…something about these tunnels."

"Do you think…um…maybe…" Lance asked, then broke off, not sure he wanted to finish the thought, but Keith seemed to guess what he'd been about to say.

 _Maybe it's because you almost died down here?_

"Oh, I am definitely biased as _hell_ against this place," Keith said, and Lance was glad to see that Keith didn't seem to be mad at him. "I just wish we had our armor back again - but it helps that we have our bayards. That's good - I guess - "

Lance nodded, trying to think of a way to distract Keith from the unease the tunnels caused him.

"So, uh - did you spend a lot of time outdoors? On Earth?" Lance asked.

"Yeah, I guess I did," Keith said. He was looking at the map again, intent on not getting lost.

Lance scratched his head. "Uh…that's cool…I always went to the beach with my family. Some of my best memories are from those times."

Keith glanced back at him then. "Yeah. I - camped out with my parents. When I was younger."

"Really?" Lance was genuinely interested. Keith rarely spoke about his parents. "Where did you go camping?"

Keith shrugged. "Desert. Star-gazing. That kind of thing."

"Sounds fun," Lance said. "Is that why you - chose that place after - after the Garrison?"

Keith nodded. "Yeah. It felt - familiar. Okay - turn here - we're almost there."

Lance wanted to learn more, but he didn't want to push Keith too far. Still, he couldn't resist asking just one more question.

"So - um - I played volleyball with my siblings…what did you do when you guys went camping?"

"My dad showed me how to use a crossbow."

Lance felt his eyebrows shoot up in surprise. "Really? That's _cool_ , man!"

Keith shrugged. "My mom - she said as long as we didn't go shooting at anything that moved it was fine with her. It was just - you know - target practice. Cacti, painted targets, that kind of thing."

"Did your mom ever shoot with you?"

"Not really. She would bring stuff to read while we were out shooting - I think it was …maps? Charts? Something. But she'd always play games with me after we got back to the campsite."

Lance nodded.

"Uh - back when you were on pain meds - you said you always chose red. Where you - remembering - "

Keith half shrugged. "Yeah, probably. It's hazy, but I think I always chose red. Any game we played, I was always red. It made - it made my mom laugh."

Keith went silent, concentrating on the map again, and when he spoke again, his voice was back to its usual, business-like matter of fact tone.

"Anyway. It was a long time ago."

Lance swallowed, missing his family at that moment.

It was strange, to think that Keith probably missed his parents the same way. Worse, even.

Lance didn't really know what to say, but as they rounded the final corridor, Lance decided to be really generous.

"Sorry, man," Lance said. Keith looked confused.

"…For…what?" he asked, and Lance shrugged. He wanted to say that he was sorry that Keith didn't have parents back on Earth who worried about him, that Lance wished Keith hadn't lost them when he was so young, but the words wouldn't come. So Lance just said something easy, and it helped that he meant what he said next.

"…I shouldn't have yelled in your ear this morning."

"Hold the presses," Keith said, his voice completely deadpan, but he was half-smiling again.

Lance snorted and shoved Keith's shoulder. Keith nearly fumbled the handheld comms, but he managed to keep a grip on it. Lance froze into place as Keith looked over at him, but Keith wasn't glaring at him this time. Instead, the Red Paladin just seemed resigned.

"I swear, it's like we're a comedy routine," Keith muttered, and Lance grinned at that.

"Yeah…we sort of are…aren't we?"

Just then, they came up to the room where Rayzor and Beyris were waiting for them, and Lance bounded forward to sweep the little girl into his arms.

"Hi Beyris!" he said, beaming at her. "Sorry we're a little late - I took a wrong turn - "

Beyris grinned at him and laughed. "That's okay - I had to find my shoe!"

Lance gasped in mock horror and pretended to look frantically around for the missing shoe.

"No - I found it, silly!" Beyris chuckled, pointing down to her feet. Lance let out a big gasp of exaggerated relief, and saw that Rayzor and Keith were both looking at him with smiles on their faces.

"What?" Lance asked, as Beyris laughed.

"You're just - _really_ good with kids," Keith said. "I swear, it's like your superpower or something -"

The Red Paladin realized what he'd said and face palmed himself again as Lance brightened. "Superpower, huh?"

"I've created a monster," Keith groaned to himself, but Rayzor was beginning to head out the door, and Beyris waved goodbye.

"Have a nice Council Meeting!" she told him. "Lance - wave goodbye too!"

So Lance and Beyris waved together, and Rayzor almost smirked at how the Blue Paladin's expression was torn between hilarity and awkwardness.

"I'll see you tonight," Rayzor told Beyris, and she smiled brightly.

"We'll take good care of her," Keith told Rayzor as he left. "Don't worry."


	4. The Way Back

"So, Beyris," Lance said. "You ready to go see Coran and the others?"

Beyris nodded enthusiastically. "I like Coran - he's so funny!"

Lance chuckled. "Yeah - Coran is pretty funny. I think he really likes to make you smile, Beyris."

Beyris grinned. "Well…maybe you and Coran should have a contest!"

Keith blinked. "A - contest?"

Beyris nodded and pointed at Lance. "You and Coran should see who can make me laugh the hardest!"

"No bets on that one," Keith said under his breath, and Lance thought he heard a touch of amusement in his friend's voice.

Lance put Beyris back on the ground and crossed his eyes at Keith when she wasn't looking. Keith rolled his eyes again, but he was already looking back down at the map again.

"Okay, come on," he said. "I think the others would like us to get back soon."

Lance was helping Beyris get her small backpack on. "We can go whenever - it doesn't really seem like there are many people around right now - and there's no rush."

Keith glanced out the corridor. "You're right…" he said. "Why is that?"

Beyris looked up at them then, innocent and trusting, and Keith and Lance exchanged semi-concerned looks.

"Beyris," Keith said, going down onto one knee, "is it - is it usually - busy - around here?"

Beyris bit her lip, thought, and then shrugged. "Sort of. Mostly just guards lately." She glanced between the two Paladins, and her face was curious. "Why?"

Keith got back to his feet, and Lance saw the Red Paladin summon his bayard as he kept his voice light. "Oh - I just wondered if the tunnels would be crowded."

Keith turned back to Lance and handed him the comms unit. "Lance, I think you and Beyris should have the map. You can both guide us - that's be - cool, right, Beyris?"

As Beyris squealed in delight and jumped up and down, the two Paladins exchanged meaningful looks.

Rayzor was a newly appointed Council member, and he was a strong advocate for the alliance with the Paladins of Voltron.

He was also an accomplished warrior, and had the loyalty of most of his men.

But that didn't rule out the possibility that someone might try…something exceptionally stupid if it meant derailing the alliance.

The lack of people around was probably nothing, but both Keith and Lance wanted to be safe rather than sorry.

"Lance," Keith said as they left the room and began to move quickly down the first set of tunnels, "do you think we should let Coran know we're on our way?"

"I'm sure he'd love to hear from Beyris!" Lance said brightly. "Let's see here…uh…aha!"

He's gently twisted the knob until he saw a picture appear on the screen. It was Aurelis, the healer who was in charge of the infirmary and was the appointed healer for the Paladins. He seemed to be sitting at a desk in the infirmary, and he was deeply engrossed in a book.

"No, no, _no_ ," he was saying under his breath, apparently talking to a character, "no, that's always where the trap is! Dark corridor - terrible visibility - don't - oh, you stupid, _stupid_ person - gaaah, I told you - trap. _Right there_. How you survived the first half of the book is a _miracle_ -"

Despite his nerves, Lance had to laugh at how intensely the man was engrossed in the story. The healer jumped in his chair, the book falling closed, and he scrabbled for his comms device.

"Paladin!" he said, and he seemed somewhat flustered. "Um - why are you calling?" The healer looked behind his shoulder, towards where Lance assumed Allura still sat watch by Shiro's healing cryo-pod, and when the healer looked back at the screen, his manner had become less frazzled, and more sympathetic.

"Your friend is doing well - and the Princess is resting now," he explained, "but - well, there really isn't anything to - "

"Oh, uh, no, actually," Lance said, trying to keep his voice nice and calm while he and Keith kept moving, Beyris skipping at Lance's side and holding his other hand. "-actually, Aurelis, is Coran there? I'm - I'm using his comms - Rayzor was called to a Council meeting, and Keith and I are bringing Beyris to our quarters - you know, for -"

"Fun!" Beyris called up at the comms unit, and Lance saw Aurelis nod in understanding. "Ah, yes, of course - one moment," he said, and he disappeared from the screen for a moment.

Lance and Keith kept moving, not rushing, not exactly, but Lance made sure he kept close watch on the map. No wrong turns, not now, not with Beyris.

When Aurelis returned, Coran was with him. Aurelis picked up the book he'd been reading and made to leave, but Lance told him he actually had a question for both of them.

"This - this may seem like an - odd question," Lance said, "But - uh - how busy would you say our route should be? Like, not busy at all? Or relatively busy?"

Coran looked at Aurelis, who sat down again at the desk, tapping out a series of commands on a keyboard, apparently calling up something on a screen that Lance couldn't see.

"Well - the alarms _would_ affect traffic somewhat - " Aurelis said, and Lance felt himself sigh silently in relief.

"-but, based on the time of day - you should at least see some others going about their business," Aurelis continued, and out of the corner of his eye, Lance saw Keith's face go grim.

"…why..?" the healer asked, looking at Lance, his red eyes suddenly concerned. "Is -"

"Oh…it's just us…walking here..." Lance laughed nervously, wishing he could somehow convince Beyris to cover her ears while he and Keith and Coran figured out what the hell was going on. Something wasn't right.

" _Just_ you?" Coran asked, and his eyes were worried too, now. "I - hmm - that seems - "

"Strangely coincidental?" Keith said from the back, where he held his bayard down by his side, ready to summon it at any moment. "Yeah…we thought so too.."

Aurelis was quickly typing into the screen again, and he asked Coran a question, and Coran answered it. The healer pointed to something on the screen, and Lance saw that the healer's hand had begun to tremble, just a little. Coran looked back at Lance then, and the Altean's face had gone pale.

"Lance…" Coran said, and Lance almost dropped the comms and reached for his bayard at the sound. The tone of voice Coran was using was his absolutely serious voice, the one reserved for 'act now, talk later' situations.

"Lance…it seems there was no Council meeting scheduled for this morning."

Lance and Keith looked at each other then, and Keith's eyes were glinting with hints of yellow. In that moment, Lance and Keith were able to communicate through looks only.

 _Rayzor was summoned, but the summons hadn't been from the Council._

 _It had been to separate him from Beyris._

 _She was a target._

Lance suddenly wished they had Hunk and Pidge with them, too, and Coran and Allura.

Beyris seemed very small and vunerable, and the tunnels were…well, before they'd looked just like normal tunnels. Now they seemed enormous, like almost any number of enemies could come swarming out at any moment.

"C-Coran," Lance managed, noticing that his hand holding the comms unit had begun to quiver slightly, "-how - how close are we to you now?"

Aurelis must have brought up a map on the screen Lance couldn't see, because he seemed to be tracing his finger down the screen, and he and Coran spoke swiftly to each other.

"Half-way," Coran said, and although he was trying to keep his voice calm, some of his worry and fear bled through. "You're - you're halfway to us - listen, I'm sending Pidge and Hunk out to meet you - for now, just - just keep coming. We can track your location through the comms unit, so be sure to keep it on-"

Lance looked down at Beyris, who was humming to herself, happily unaware of the impending danger.

"What - what about Ra-" he began to ask, but Keith made a 'nixing' motion with one hand, looking down at Beyris, and Lance broke off.

Aurelis looked at them, his face set and strained in anxiety. "I-I'm opening a channel to the Council now," he said. "I'll find out - where he is. Just -"

Suddenly, Lance saw figures standing about twenty feet in front of them. It was two of Proselyt he'd seen before, but this time, they weren't walking forward. They stood shoulder to shoulder, blocking the corridor.

Even though Lance tried never to swear in front of anyone under the age of ten, he muttered ' _Quiznak_.' under his breath.

Apparently Keith had no such inhibitions, because Lance heard him say, ' _Dammit_ ,' and turned to see that two other Proselyt had come to block the way behind them. They also stood shoulder to shoulder, about twenty feet back.

They were trapped.

Lance looked back down at Coran's face on the screen, and all Lance could remember, in that last, terrifying moment, was that Coran had already seen so many people he cared for die. And he might watch two - or three - more die in the next few minutes, unless they could find a way out of this.

Keeping the comms unit tightly clasped his hand, hoping Coran would listen and figure out his plan, Lance bent down and scooped Beyris into his arms, saying, "Hey, Beyris, it's gonna get loud, so just - hold onto me - and try to cover your ears - and - and shut your eyes - okay?"

She squeaked as he picked her up. "Loud?" she asked him, and he nodded. "I'm - I'm going to pretend to be a big, _big_ bear, and Keith's gonna chase me."

"Ooo…kay…" she said, looking slightly puzzled, but she closed her eyes and covered her ears, and then Lance had glanced over at Keith, and Keith saw what Lance had planned. They nodded at each other, the movements so minuscule, there was no way the enemies could tell it had happened.

 _I'll run. Get her as far away as I can._

 _I"ll hold them off._

 _Don't get killed._

 _Good luck._

Even as they exchanged looks, the enemy began to come towards them. Keith activated his bayard, snarling a challenge at the opponents coming towards him. Shifting Beyris onto his hip, holding onto her with one arm, Lance used his free hand to summon his own bayard, so that the men coming at him would think he intended to hold his ground, just like Keith was going to.

He saw the instant the men walking towards him smirked, the moment when they _thought_ they knew what he was about to do.

But they were wrong. Lance wasn't going to stand and fight like Keith was.

He was going to do what he did best.

He was going to be loud, unpredictable, and take the enemy by complete and total surprise.

Without any warning, Lance raised his weapon and fired, two shots, one for each solider, the same kind of shots he'd fired at Sendak. The two guards went down, and then Lance was running forward, running as fast as he could.

As he ran, he deactivated his bayard, so he could hold onto Beyris with both hands, so that he could bring her as close as possible, for maximum protection.

As Lance leapt over the unconscious bodies and pelted down the corridor that led towards safety, he hoped to God and all the stars that Keith could hold his own against two opponents and could remember his way back to the safety of the infirmary wing.

Over the comms, he could hear Coran and Aurelis, and the healer was saying that Rayzor hadn't gotten to the Council chamber yet, that he'd been - delayed, somehow - but Lance just kept running, running towards the only safety he could give Beyris.

If he could meet up with Pidge and Hunk, they could help him defend Beyris. He just had to keep her safe until they could get to him.


	5. Holding Back the Enemy

Keith heard Lance's bayard go off - damn, that sniper rifle was _loud_ \- it fit its Paladin, that was for sure - and then he'd reached his first opponent, and he managed to kick the man back, further down the corridor, just in time to take on the second man, who snarled into Keith's face in rage.

"Give us the girl!"

"Like - Hell!" Keith spat, head butting the bastard in the nose. He heard a crack - something breaking - and saw blood fountain up, and then the man had dropped like a stone onto to the ground, clutching his face and screaming in pain.

" _Jenick_!" the other Proselyt screamed, lunging forward again, his face contorted in rage. "You Galra scum!"

Keith spat out a curse and brought up his sword again, hoping that Lance had made it out with Beyris - that maybe he'd already miraculously met up with Pidge and Hunk, that they were getting Beyris to safety -

But even as the thought crossed his mind, Keith heard a cry of pain from the intersection of corridors behind him, near the corridor where Lance had gone. At the sound, Keith suddenly felt nothing but a white-hot, vicious wall of flames flare up inside his chest.

That was Lance.

Someone had hurt Lance.

Lance and Beyris were in danger.

He kicked his second opponent in the stomach and brought his bayard down once, as hard as he could, clubbing the man on the back of the neck. Without waiting for the man to hit the ground, Keith turned and raced down the tunnel, towards where the cry of pain had come from. He kept his footsteps as light as he could, knowing that if there were more enemies up ahead, his only advantage would be surprise.

 _Let them be okay,_ Keith thought, _Let them be okay, please - let them be okay -_

The thought was the only thing in Keith's mind, it pounded with every beat of his heart.

When Keith reached the intersection of corridors, he saw something lying on the floor. It was the comms unit Lance had been holding onto. The screen was flickering and the audio was unsteady, but at least it was still working.

Keith forced himself to stop, to keep quiet. He went down onto one knee, reached out, grabbed hold of the comms unit, and put it into one of his jacket pockets. Aurelis and Coran were tracking their location through the comms - so he had to keep it nearby.

Okay, so someone had been waiting up here. They'd taken Lance and Beyris. But where -

Keith concentrated then, listening as hard as he could, and then he heard voices coming from around another corner, up ahead, and he forced himself not to leap to his feet and just run headfirst into the situation. Instead, he moved swiftly and silently towards the noises, so that he could get a look at the people ahead of him, making sure to stay out of sight as he peered around the corner, towards the voices.

 _Shit._

 _This was bad_.

There had been four more enemies waiting, near the intersection that led towards Coran, towards Allura, towards safety.

And they'd ambushed Lance, dragging the Blue Paladin away, down a corridor that wasn't very well lit - maybe these tunnels were off of the safety routes - damn, they'd taken Lance and Beyris even further away from any hope of help.

The Blue Paladin had clearly put up a fight. He was breathing hard, and there were bruises on his face, his jacket was ripped and torn, and he was pinned against one of the tunnel's walls, a man holding each of his arms, and a third gripped his throat. Burn marks smoldered on their armor - Lance must have gotten off a few shots before they'd managed to pin him.

The fourth one had Beyris under one arm. She was kicking and hitting out as hard as she could, but there was no way a five-year-old girl could get free from a grown man.

Not unless Keith did something fast. He drew back from the corner, starting to rise to his feet, feeling his pulse race inside his temples. He had to come up with a plan, some way to -

Suddenly, he felt something hard slam against the back of his head, and stars suddenly flickered at the edges of Keith's vision.

Someone had come up behind him and hit him across the back of the head. _Shit_ \- it was probably one of the men he'd knocked out in the tunnel - maybe the man whose nose he'd broken.

Keith felt dizzy, but the blow hadn't been hard enough to knock him out. Maybe his enemy was still reeling from the hit he'd taken from Keith earlier. Maybe Keith could still -

He tried to get to his feet again, to turn and face the enemy, but his vision tilted and whirled, and Keith felt himself falling forward. He had just enough awareness to know his bayard had flickered out back into its hilt form before he felt someone grab hold of his hair and pull him to his feet.

Dizzy and disoriented as he was, Keith still tried to break free, but the man behind him grabbed hold of Keith's right arm and pinned it behind his back, and then Keith was forced to walk further down the corridor, away from the light of the inhabited tunnels.

He saw Lance look over at him, and the Blue Paladin's face went pale in fear. Keith wanted to his head to clear, he wanted to break free and get Lance and Beyris out, but then he was pushed roughly forwards, and he couldn't catch his balance in time.

Keith fell hard, face first, onto the ground a few feet away from Lance. His head hit the floor with a solid thud, and the Red Paladin felt everything waver and blur around him.

 _Shit._


	6. All Out Of Options

When Lance saw Keith come around the corner, he thought for a minute that Keith had defeated the other enemies and was going to save Beyris.

Normally, Lance would have complained about needing to be saved by Keith. It was part of their 'rivalry'.

But Beyris was in real danger, and Lance just wanted someone - anyone - to help her. He didn't care who it was, as long as she got out of this all right.

He'd tried to keep her safe, he had - but he'd been trying to get away from enemies, not fight them, and four guys coming at you unexpectedly from all sides had to count for something, right?

It didn't matter. Not to Lance. He felt worthless, and stupid, and small, because he hadn't been able to keep Beyris safe.

Lance had been running, but as he rounded the first corner, he'd been ambushed. One of the four newcomers had used some sort of net, to trip Lance up, and before he could get up again, they were on him. He'd managed to get off a few shots before they reached him, but then they'd kicked his bayard out of his hand, and another one had wrenched away the comms unit and thrown it away, back down the corridor.

He hit the ground hard, and had just enough time to curl up around Beyris before the four men reached them.

"What do we do now?" he heard one say to another.

"Stick to the plan," was the answer, and then Lance felt someone pulling on the net, and he realized they were starting to drag them both down a different corridor, one that didn't have as many lights, and he swore in frustration as he realized that they were headed away from the inhabited tunnels, even further away from safety.

They weren't dragged very far, but Lance figured it was just far enough to make it harder for Keith to find them.

So Lance had just tried to hold onto Beyris, to curl around her and defend her with his body, to keep them from taking her away. He heard the guards talking to each other, and he felt his whole body start to tremble in rage and fear.

He didn't have any weapons. He couldn't get up and run. He was useless, he was _useless_ -

"Lance?" Beyris asked, trying to look up at him then. She'd realized something was wrong when they'd fallen down. "Lance, what's -" but Lance kept his arms wrapped tight around her, trying to make a Lance shield around her, to keep her from seeing as much as possible. He couldn't really use his legs, but he'd been able to twist so that his back was to the corridor and he faced the wall now, so at least Beyris could be protected as much as possible.

"Beyris, you're going to have be brave, okay?" Lance said, and he tried really hard not to cry then, because he felt so useless. If they took her, he'd never forgive himself -

"Paladin," one of the guards said, "give us the girl."

Lance didn't want Beyris to feel any more scared than she probably did already, so he kept her clutched tight against his chest. Her head was buried in his shoulder now, so at least he could try and sound like his usual self. He wasn't sure he could have if she'd been looking at him, with her eyes wide in fear.

"Nah," he said, keeping Beyris as close to him as he could, shielding her from the guards. "Can't do that. We've got a playdate."

The guard sighed. "Fine, then."

They'd reached down then, but Lance bit them. He bit hard, snarling, and then they'd started kicking him. Which sucked, especially because Lance wasn't about to let go of Beyris to make the bastards stop, but he hadn't been able to keep from crying out in pain.

Beyris had cried out then, and her voice was furious and angry. "Stop it! Leave him alone!"

"Bey-ris," Lance wheezed, "-don't-"

Then one of the guards had struck him hard across the back of the skull, and Lance felt blood begin to trickle down his neck, and he broke off, hissing in pain.

"We'll stop once he lets go of you," the guard said to Beyris.

"Lance, let go of me," she said, and Lance could tell she wasn't thinking this through, she was _five_ , she just wanted them to stop hurting him, but -

"Nope," Lance managed, holding her tighter, swallowing back another cry of pain as a particularly vicious kick almost knocked the breath from him. "No, Beyris, I can't - I promised- "

Then Beyris grabbed hold of his wrist and bit down, hard. Her tiny teeth were sharp, and Lance screamed in pain, feeling his grip loosen, just for an instant -

But an instant was enough for the bastards to grab Lance's wrists and finally pull him away from Beyris.

Lance screamed again, this time purely from rage, but even as he did so, the two guards holding his arms had yanked him upright and pinned him against the wall, and then a third one clutched Lance by the throat.

Beyris had been scooped up by the fourth guard, and she snarled in anger, beginning to kick and wiggle, obviously annoyed and scared, and Lance felt tears come to his eyes as he saw her look back at him, scared and confused and really, really frightened-

" _Beyris!_ " he gasped, but Beyris was still trying to get free, and she was _pissed,_ now, not scared.

"Let _go_ of me!" she snarled, and she was definitely Rayzor's niece, because she had the death glare down like she was training to be captain of the guards one day, but of course she couldn't get away from someone three times her size.

The man holding the girl rolled his eyes. "Yell as much as you want, girl - these corridors have been abandoned for ages. No one's going to chance coming here until the all-clear sounds."

Beyris tried to bite him, but the man just readjusted his grip and continued. "That's why we picked this place to bring you. _Strategy_."

Lance told the kidnapping bastards where they could expect to spend eternity - it was someplace really, really hot, and not the Bahamas kind of hot - but then the one holding him by the throat slammed a fist into his stomach, and Lance couldn't really breathe for a few seconds.

Beyris screamed in fury that they'd _promised_ not to hurt him - she'd made him let go of her, so they had to stop it, they had to stop it _now._

"I have to say, I'm surprised," the guard holding Beyris said. "Didn't know you had such spirit, boy."

Lance snarled something at the guard then, and that was when he thought he saw a flash of red at the corner of the corridor.

But then, a guard with a clearly broken nose frog-marched a dazed looking Keith towards them, and Lance felt his hopes shrivel up and die as Keith was thrown down onto the ground, hit it hard, and didn't get back up.

"Keith?" Lance rasped.

There was no answer, and Lance saw the guard standing over Keith look over at Beyris, and he smiled.

"Well done," he said to guards holding Lance. "I think we'll succeed yet."

Lance saw that Beyris was quiet now, her eyes big and scared, and his instincts kicked in.

Yes, it was unlikely the others would find them now. Yes, it was looking pretty bad.

But Lance would be damned before he let his own feelings of fear and uselessness keep him from doing everything he could possibly do to help Beyris, even if all he could do was be annoying as hell.

"…yeah?…" Lance coughed, and he tried to wink over at Beyris. "…wouldn't…count…on that…pal…"

The man with the broken nose - clearly the leader of this lovely little group of kidnappers - looked over at Lance then, raising an eyebrow.

"Really?" he asked, and a very nasty smile crossed his face. "Do you mean to say you expect your friends to reach us in time to save you and your friend?"

Lance refused to look taken aback, even though he was. He really hoped Beyris wasn't too scared right now. He _hated_ the thought of her being scared.

"Jenick," the man holding Lance's throat said, "We should go."

Jenick held up a hand, requesting silence. "Paladin, you misunderstand me. I do not mean to kill you. My only goal is the girl."

Lance snarled then, trying to get free again, and from the corner of his eye, he thought he saw Keith stir.

Keith hadn't been knocked out - just stunned. But Lance thought it was better that the enemy not know that just yet.

So he continued to snarl, struggling to get free, making sure he took up as much of Jenick's attention as possible.

"You're a _bastard_!" he snarled, but his words broke off as the grip on his throat tightened.

"I _could_ just kill him," the man holding Lance by the throat said, "It's _really_ not an issue."

Beyris snarled then, in fury and desperate anger, and it was quite an frighting sound, considering it came from a five year old girl who had a small backpack on her shoulders.

Jenick sighed and looked over at the man. "Regn, just because the boy is annoying doesn't mean you get to kill him."

Lance tried to choke out something, but he couldn't manage anything past the tight grip on his windpipe. Jenick looked over at Lance again, winked, and patted something that looked like a blowdart pipe that hung at his belt.

"A dose of this, and he won't be able to move," Jenick said. "That was the original plan, after all. So come on, now, Regn. Let him go."

Regn growled, but at another glare from Jenick, he loosened his grip on Lance's throat, and Lance was finally able to breathe again.

Jenick turned his gaze back towards Keith and a sudden, vicious look entered his eyes. "Besides, I believe the Paladin's choice in allies will result in his end soon enough."

"Waz-that-mean?" Lance rasped, trying to keep Jenick's attention. If Jenick realized that Keith was waking up sooner than planned, it could completely ruin any chance of a last-ditch surprise attack working long enough to get Beyris to safety.

"I mean," Jenick said, stepping closer to Lance and looking him straight in the face, "that those who ally themselves with the darkness soon become the darkness."

Lance laughed in Jenick's face - if hissing and gargling contemptuously could count as laughing. Which it totally did, in Lance's opinion.

"-poetic-" he chuckled, his voice hoarse, but still audible. "Got - any plans - for - a book?"

Jenick's eyes narrowed, and his expression went flat. "Laugh now," he said, "but I assure you, your friend will turn on you soon enough. It's in his nature."

Lance rolled his eyes. "Uh-huh. Sure, big guy."

"That's it," Regn said, reaching for a knife that hung at his belt. "Jenick, I'm just going to kill him now."

But it wasn't Lance who fell to the ground dead a few heartbeats later.


	7. Getting Away

After he'd hit the floor, Keith's head had spun for awhile, but he'd regained enough of his wits in time to overhear that Jenick's 'only goal was the girl.'

Freaking bastard.

Keith felt the anger rise in him, and he welcomed it, because he could use it, he could use it to save Beyris and Lance, if he timed his attack right.

He flexed the fingers on his right hand, seeing if anyone noticed the movement, and when they didn't, Keith waited for a count of three, listening hard to everything around him, feeling his pulse beat faster and faster in his chest.

When Lance's voice cut off, Keith almost leapt to his feet, but he forced himself to wait, just a few seconds more, and he was glad he did, because suddenly he heard Lance breathe again, and immediately after that, he felt Jenick's eyes on him, and Keith almost shivered at the hate in Jenick's voice.

When Jenick stepped away from Keith, closer to Lance, Keith knew this was his chance, the only one he was going to get, and so he moved as fast and as silently as he could.

Keith hadn't been holding his bayard in his right hand when Jenick had attacked him from behind. He'd been holding it in his left hand.

He'd switched his bayard to his left hand so he could grab the comms unit…and so, he still held his bayard hilt.

Jenick hadn't realized the Red Paladin still had his weapon, and that mistake was going to cost him dearly.

Keith raised his left hand towards the man holding the still struggling Beyris, and he pictured what he needed, and suddenly, Keith held a crossbow - just like the one he'd seen his father use, a long time ago, when he'd shown Keith how to fire a weapon that could take down an enemy without noise.

Keith shot for the center of mass, and the bastard went down, a bolt though the center of his chest, and Beyris squeaked as she tumbled out of the man's grip, onto the floor, rolling a few feet away from the group, finally ending up on her back, slightly dazed and staring up at the ceiling.

Then Keith turned, rising to one knee, and he hoped his bayard could reload automatically if he told it to, because he had less than three seconds to act if he wanted to save Lance's life. Keith pointed his weapon at the three men holding Lance against the wall, and shot three times, hoping Beyris wasn't watching this.

He hadn't wanted to kill anyone. But he especially hadn't wanted to kill anyone in front of a kid.

Death wasn't something you ever really forgot once you'd seen it first-hand.

The three men all slumped over, bolts sticking out of their backs or chests. Jenick startled backwards, and Keith cursed. If he shot at Jenick now, he might hit Lance. Then Jenick was aiming something at Keith - a dart gun?

In that instant, Lance leapt forward and tackled Jenick to the ground, wrestling with the man. As he fought with Jenick, Lance shouted for Keith to take Beyris and go, go _now_ , to get out before any more enemies came.

Keith wanted to just shoot Jenick too and call it a day. Hell, the bastard was obviously not about to quit. But as Keith got to his feet, he remembered that Jenick had said something about - paralytic darts - oh, _shit_ -

If Jenick hit Keith with one of his paralytic darts - like he'd planned to in the first place - Jenick would be able to take Beyris in a heartbeat, because Lance sure as hell wasn't going anywhere soon with his legs tangled up in that net.

"RUN!" Lance screamed then, and Keith hated to do it, he hated to leave Lance behind, but Beyris was still in danger, and Keith had to make the hard choice.

So Keith grabbed the girl up in his arms and ran, back towards the corridor that led towards safety.

She blinked up at him then, looking a bit confused.

"Uh - Keith?"

Keith had just reached into his jacket pocket and grabbed hold of the comms unit, because he knew he had to get the tunnel right on the first try, and the map had to work, it _had_ to -

"-yeah?"

" - your eyes are - yellow-"

Keith didn't really hear her, because he'd just skidded to a stop, feeling his heart plummet as he saw that he couldn't make it to safety, that there was no way he could get to Pidge and Hunk in time.

At the intersection of the corridors, there were three Proselyt. The same three he and Lance had taken down in the first attack.

They were blocking his only route to safety, and from the sounds behind them, Jenick would break free from Lance at any moment.

That would mean Keith would be outnumbered four to one, _and_ going up against an enemy who could paralyze him from a distance.

Four against one weren't winning odds.

He couldn't them both to safety before these guys caught up to him.

But if he got enough of a head start - Beyris could.

He still had the comms unit. He could leave the comms unit with her - when he hid her - and then he could lead these bastards away, and then Aurelis and Coran could find her, and get her to safety.

She'd be okay.

She'd be okay if he ran, right now, as fast he could, to get a head start and hide her before these bastards caught up to him.

So Keith turned, chose a nearby tunnel entrance at random, and sprinted down it.

"Beyris-" he said, holding the comms unit up where she could see it, " - listen - do you know - how to use - one of these?"

"…yeah…" the girl's voice was small and scared, but Keith tried not to hear that, because if he did, he was going to want to turn around and atomize Jenick and his remaining co-conspirators for making a little girl feel this scared.

 _You can pulverize them later, once she's hidden,_ he told himself. _For now, just run_ _._

"Okay," he said, and he kept his words short, so he had more breath for running. "Call Aurelis. Now."

He heard footsteps racing after him, and he quickened his pace, desperate to get enough of a lead so he could lose them long enough to hide the girl.

The comms unit buzzed to life in Beyris' clawed fingers, and Keith heard a crackling, static sort of sound come over the comms.

" _Uncle_!" Beyris said, and she sounded glad, then, terrified, and very, very young. "Uncle, they hurt Lance - they're chasing us- "

Keith looked down at the screen long enough to see Rayzor's eyes go flat and cold in rage and sudden fear.

"Okay-" Keith said as he made a sharp right turn, "Well - Rayzor - works - too."


	8. Hide and Seek

" _Paladin_!" Rayzor said, and though he tried to keep his voice steady, Keith heard the fear in it. "Where are you - who is -"

"Some - jackass - called - Jenick - " Keith gasped. He took a left then, just to _really_ make the bastards chasing him dizzy, and gulped in a breath as he continued. "Don't - know where - can - you - track our - comms unit - "

" _I am trying to_ ," Rayzor said. "It seems to be damaged - we couldn't track you until just now - "

Beyris perked up at that. "We?"

"Yes - we've all been - " Rayzor's voice suddenly cut off into static, and Keith saw the screen flicker and buzz.

"-Shit-" Keith managed, skidding to a stop as he almost went down a dead end. "Okay - uh - this way, then - "

As he ran, Keith listened, listened hard, until finally, he heard no sound of pursuit.

The comms unit came on again, and Keith told Rayzor what he planned to do, briefly, without elaboration.

"I'm going to hide her and lead them away. I'll leave the comms with Beyris. Track it and find her as fast as you can. I don't know how many man Jenick has with him - "

"It's three now - four - including him - Jenick - he - " Rayzor's voice shorted out again, but Keith felt marginally better at knowing that only four enemies would be searching the uninhabited tunnels for Beyris.

Keith stopped when he saw a ventilation shaft in the tunnel ahead of him.

He still couldn't hear anyone behind them, but he had no time to waste.

He had to hide Beyris, he had to hide her _now_.

Keith quickly removed the grate from the ventilation tunnel and lifted Beyris inside.

"Here - Beyris - you can hide in here - "

As he lifted her up into the ventilation shaft, Beyris looked up into his face, and suddenly she looked - scared. Her lower lip started to tremble, and Keith felt as if he would have preferred a kick to the face.

"Keith - why - why are your teeth sharp?"

"Uh - I - I - "

Even as he spoke, Keith heard faint noises echoing in the tunnels far behind him. He made a decision then, and he hoped it was the right one.

"Beyris, I'm your friend. I'm Lance's friend. And - I - I have to go fight those guys now."

Beyris still seemed scared, but she nodded. "O-o-kay- but - but what should I do?"

Keith pointed at the comms unit in her hand, even as he pushed her farther down the tunnel, so she'd be out of sight.

"Hold onto that. Your uncle's coming to find you - just - don't let anyone hear you, or see you. You have to stay hidden, okay?"

He had a sudden inspiration, something that might help her. He shrugged out of his jacket and covered her with it, like it was a blanket.

"Listen, this will help you stay hidden, okay? Just - pretend you're playing hide and go seek. I'm going to lead them away from you, so you just stay quiet, okay?"

She pulled the jacket over her, and Keith saw that it seemed to help, at least a little. Her clawed fingers were still shaking, but not as hard.

"It's soft," she said. "I - I like it."

Keith lifted the grate back up, but just before he put it back into place, he grinned at her and winked, like Lance would have. "Don't tell anyone, okay? They have to think I'm tough."

She smiled then, tremulously, but it was genuine. "Okay."

Keith heard the noises getting louder. He didn't want to leave her, but he had no choice.

He finished securing the grate firmly back into place. Now even he couldn't see where she was hiding. The darkness of the ventilation shaft would keep Beyris hidden until Rayzor or the other Paladins came for her.

"Wait for your uncle," he said. Without waiting for an answer, he turned and sprinted down the corridor, away from where she hid, down into the maze of tunnels where the enemy was looking for him.

He couldn't avoid Jenick or his men forever.

But he could make sure they didn't find Beyris.


	9. Epilogue (Aftermath)

Even as Keith reached down, grabbed Beyris, and began to run, Lance knew he couldn't hold Jenick for long. Jenick was angry, and Lance's legs were still tangled up in whatever net that guard had used on him.

But Lance did his best all the same. He tried to keep Jenick's arms pinned, to keep him from going for those paralytic darts, because if Keith got hit with one of those, it was all over. Beyris couldn't outrun a grown man, and Lance wouldn't be able to get free of the net in time to help her escape Jenick.

Lance managed to keep Jenick pinned long enough for Keith to disappear around a bend in the corridor, but then -

Lance felt something sharp and cold pierce the skin on his left hand. He looked down and saw that Jenick had managed to stab one of the darts deep into the back of his hand.

Even as Lance realized what had happened, he felt his entire left arm stiffen as if it had been turned to stone.

After that, Jenick was able to threw Lance off him, and Lance cried out as he hit the wall of the tunnel hard and fell to the floor.

All his breath left him as he hit the ground, and he realized his left arm still hurt, it hurt and bled, but he couldn't make it move.

He tried to get his other arm beneath him, to push himself up, but he still hadn't regained his breath, and now Jenick had gotten back to his feet and was glaring down at him.

"I should _kill_ you," Jenick snarled, and Lance couldn't manage to say anything at all. Just then, a shout from the other end of hallway caused Jenick to turn, and Lance heard more footsteps pelting down towards them.

Lance managed to raise his head, hoping to see Pidge and Hunk arriving, but it was - it was one of the guards he'd knocked unconscious earlier.

"Jenick - the girl - the Red Paladin took her - the others went to follow him - but we need to move, now, if we want to outflank him."

Jenick turned his glare to the other guard, but he was nodding.

"Fine."

The guard caught his breath at the sight of the bodies in the corridor. "Who - how - "

"The Red Paladin's work," Jenick snarled. "Let's pay him back in full. He can't summon his Lion down here - and anyway, he's Galra scum. He's _mine_."

"-no-" Lance gasped, and he tried to get up again. "-no-don't-"

But they ignored him. They just turned and raced down the tunnel, after Keith and Beyris, and Lance was left alone in the corridor.

He swore and painfully got into a sitting position, trying to take stock of what he could do.

First, he had to be able to move. Using only one arm to untangle his legs was difficult - especially because it felt like his entire left side was beginning to go numb - but Lance began the process anyway, gritting his teeth against the way his body was screaming at him that it was bruised, and battered, and in need of a hell of a lot of painkillers.

While he kicked and pulled the net off of his legs as best he could, he took a mental tally. He didn't have a comms unit, so there was no way to contact the others just yet. But if he could reach his bayard - he could at least be armed to face any further trouble that might come his way.

Then he heard footsteps racing towards him and felt panic envelop him. He hadn't managed to get completely free from the net yet - and his bayard was still out of reach - useless, he was always useless when it came to fighting, dammit, dammit, _dammit_ -

"LANCE!" Hunk bellowed, and suddenly he and Pidge were by Lance's side. Pidge used her bayard to slice through the net, and Hunk helped Lance get to his feet.

"Oh, God - Lance, what the hell happened?" Pidge asked, looking around frantically. "Coran and Aurelis sent us here - "

"Do you - do you have a comms unit?" Lance asked, and Pidge nodded, holding out one that Aurelis must have given her and Hunk to help guide them through the tunnels.

"Can you track Keith's location? He took Beyris and ran - but there are at least four more guards after him - we - we gotta go find them - "

"Aurelis said we had to get you back to the infirmary as soon as we found you," Pidge said, practically beginning to push Lance down the corridor. "He says you _have_ to get medical attention - "

Lance let out a hiss of pain as her hand brushed against his left arm, and Hunk froze when he saw the blood dripping down from Lance's fingers. "Oh, _man_ , Lance - what - "

Hunk took Lance's uninjured arm and put it over his big shoulders, and Lance found that was a good thing, because he couldn't really stand under his own power anymore. Hunk and Pidge started to take Lance back towards the infirmary, despite his protests.

"No, dammit, we have to go after them - come on, we can't - "

"Rayzor is already tracking Beyris," Pidge said. "Aurelis and Coran contacted him immediately after you told them something was wrong. The Council was told that someone was after Beyris, and they immediately sent guards to all the main entrances and exits. They're bottlenecking Jenick, and trust me when I say I don't envy him once the guards find him. They are _pissed_."

"Isn't - isn't Jenick a guard?" Lance asked, remembering the uniforms Jenick and his friends had worn.

"No, Aurelis says he was another Council candidate. The uniforms he and his friends were wearing were just to disguise their movements in the tunnels. Apparently the jackass is a sore loser -"

"It's not just that," Lance said, feeling dizzy, and sick, and wanting nothing more than to wake up and realize he, and Keith, and Beyris, and everyone else were all watching a movie together. "He - he said - a lot of stuff - about - Galra scum - and - and how he was going to make - Keith pay - for killing his friends - "

" _Shit_ ," Pidge said, and she and Hunk exchanged looks.

"But - but I don't get - why he didn't just - kill us and take Beyris," Lance said, as they rounded a final turn and came within sight of the infirmary.

"Dude," Hunk said, "I think he meant to just knock you and Keith unconscious and take her - but you fighting back like you did threw a wrench in his plans. Maybe he didn't want to piss off your Lions if he could help it...?"

Just then, Lance saw someone else racing towards the infirmary, coming down the corridor ahead of them, and he felt something in his heart suddenly twist and wrench in both relief and pain.

It was Rayzor, and he held Beyris in his arms. She had Keith's jacket - his stupid, dumb, red jacket - over her like a blanket, but Keith wasn't with them. Did that mean -

" _Beyris_!" Lance shouted, and if he could have managed it, he would have tried to run to her, to see if she was okay - because she had to be okay, she just had to be -

From beneath the jacket, her head shot up and she looked over at him, and she yelled at the top of her voice, "LANCE!"

Aurelis' head poked out of the infirmary door, and then Coran was there, and Allura, and everyone was pulling them all into the infirmary, talking at the same time.

As the doors closed behind them, Beyris wiggled out of her uncle's arms and ran over to Lance, who pushed himself away from Hunk and dropped down onto his knees, holding out his good arm to her as she ran into into him in a full-body-tackle-hug.

Yeah, Lance's left arm was basically useless, and he hurt all over. But Lance didn't really care about that in the slightest right now.

As Beyris threw her arms around him and buried her face into his neck, she started to cry.

"I'm - sorry I - bit you!" she said, "I just - I just - wanted them to stop - hurting you - "

Lance wanted to do nothing else but hug her for eternity, but he settled for a hoarse, "- 's fine, Beyris, I understand - are you okay -"

Then Lance heard Rayzor telling everyone that they had to move, _right now_ , if they were going to save Keith, and Aurelis had come to kneel by Beyris and Lance.

"Check Beyris first," Lance said, "I have to help - save Keith - "

Beyris broke away from him, looking slightly insulted. "I'm FINE!" she said, scrubbing her face with her hands. "-I _bit_ you - you need a _bandage_ \- Aurelis, tell Lance he _needs a bandage_ -"

Then Aurelis was slapping a patch onto Lance's arm, and suddenly Lance could twitch his fingers again, and he saw the healer was indeed wrapping a bandage around both the bite mark and the place where Jenick had stabbed him in the left hand.

Rayzor was talking now, and Lance caught the words 'Cave of Ice' and 'sadistic bastard' and felt like he wanted to be sick.

"I'm coming," Lance said, as he got back to his feet. "I can already feel my arm again - and I can fight - or at least cover you from a distance, if you need me to."

Pidge saw the look in Lance's eyes and handed him back his bayard. She'd grabbed it from the corridor's floor after she finished cutting him free from the net.

"We have to move, _now_ ," Rayzor said. "Jenick doesn't know we're coming, half of his men are dead, and he doesn't know Beyris is safe. That's the only reason he hasn't - "

Rayzor broke off then, but Coran clenched his fists tight in anger, and Allura went pale as a sheet.

Aurelis' face was set and grim. "I'll prepare a cryo-pod here," he said. "Princess, Advisor, I think you should stay here with me, in case we have to defend the infirmary. I don't want to take any chances with Beyris' safety."

The healer turned to Pidge and handed her one of the medical scanners he'd just used on Lance a few minutes ago, while the Blue Paladin had been hugging Beyris.

"When you get to the Red Paladin, take a through scan of his injuries," he said. "This will help us treat him more effectively once you get him back here."

Rayzor had already moved towards the door, and his eyes were terrifying to look at.

"Anyone who's coming, come now," he said. "We're going."

As the three Paladins followed him out the door, Coran exchanged looks with Allura.

Aurelis had told them that Jenick had been one of the loudest advocates against the alliance with the Paladins of Voltron.

Allura felt panic rise in her throat at the thought of Keith in Jenick's power, but she strove to hide it, for Beyris' sake, and Coran's.

The Royal Advisor had not said anything yet, but Allura was almost certain her old friend would blame himself for what had happened.

But there was nothing that had been out of the ordinary, or at least, nothing that had _seemed_ out of the ordinary. Jenick's plan had been brilliantly simple, and very well-executed.

Summon Rayzor away, take the girl, and force an end to the alliance.

But Keith and Lance had prevented him from doing that.

And right now, Rayzor and the other Paladins were going to go get Keith and bring him back.

All she could do at the moment was help Beyris.

Allura turned to see that Coran had already leaned down and was talking to the small girl.

"Beyris, I just wanted to tell you - I think you were very brave today," he said. Beyris had picked up Keith's jacket again and was holding it close to her, almost like a teddy bear.

"Not really," she said. "Lance and Keith were brave. They fought the bad guys. I just - hid."

Allura saw the pain in Coran's eyes as he saw the way Beyris held Keith's jacket. Beyris seemed to sense it, although she didn't quite understand it.

"I like it because it's soft," she said, and then she clapped a hand over her mouth, and it seemed as if she wanted to cry.

Coran blinked at that, looking confused, and asked, gently, "Beyris, what's wrong?"

"I promised not to tell," Beyris said, seeming miserable. "Keith told me that - that he wanted you to think he's tough - oh no…I broke my promise…"

She sniffed and buried her face into Keith's jacket and started to cry softly.

"Oh, Beyris," Allura said, reaching out and picking the small girl up in her arms, hugging her close. "Oh, don't cry, you didn't do anything wrong - "

"Yes, we still - " Coran broke off mid-word, but continued after a few moments. "-we still - think he's tough - really, _really_ tough - "

"Now now now," Aurelis said, coming over and patting Beyris' shoulder, "It's - um - quite all right - there there - "

Beyris sniffed, wiped her nose on the back of her hand, and looked at Aurelis. " 'relis, I'm - I'm feeling tired. Can - Can I go to sleep?"

Aurelis smiled at her then, and it was a very kind smile. "Yes, Beyris, I think that is an excellent idea - would you like something to help you sleep?"

Beyris nodded vigorously, and Allura couldn't help but smile at the way the healer bustled over to a cabinet and fetched something that looked like a very brightly colored bottle of cool water.

"A natural sleeping aid," Aurelis explained to the Alteans as Beyris drank a glassful. "It's most refreshing-"

Beyris yawned then, and Allura carried her over to a couch on the far side of the room.

"Here," she said, laying Beyris down on it gently, "You can sleep right here, next to where we'll be-"

"And I'll find you a nice pillow!" Coran exclaimed, leaping into action. He placed one underneath the girl's neck, and the girl yawned again and nestled into the cushions, pulling Keith's jacket over her.

"…so…soft…" she said, and then she blinked up at Allura and Coran.

"…is…Keith…part…Galra?" she asked. Coran and Allura glanced at each other, and Beyris's eyelids flickered. "His eyes…were yellow…when he hid me…and…I…just thought…he might be…"

The girl didn't seem scared or frightened of the idea, just…sleepily interested. Allura leaned over and brushed some hair out of the girl's face as she answered.

"We think so," she said, "but he's one of the best people we know."

Beyris nodded sleepily. "…oh…I know…my uncle…thinks so…too…"

Then her eyes closed completely, and she started to breathe very slowly and deeply.

Coran and Allura looked at each other again.

Allura had to wipe away a few tears before she spoke.

"That little girl," she said, her voice somehow both proud and sad, "is a lot smarter than most people in the universe."

Coran nodded, then turned back towards Aurelis. The healer was speaking over the comms, and when he saw Coran looking over at him, the healer motioned for the Alteans to come and join him.

Leaving Beyris sound asleep on the couch, the two Alteans came to the other end of the room, to where Aurelis had already begun to prepare a healing pod.

"They found him," Aurelis said. "But - it - it's not good."

Coran and Allura looked at each other, and each of the Alteans saw the fear in the other's eyes.

Then Coran turned back to the healer and took in a deep breath. "What can we do to help?"


End file.
